Having snatched Novak Djokovic’s world number one ranking in a thrilling late-season raid, Andy Murray will bid to storm the Serb’s Melbourne Park fortress and capture an elusive Australian Open title after five agonising near misses. Murray enters the year’s first grand slam in unknown territory, rated as top seed for the first...

DUBLIN // A leading foreign affairs institute in Stockholm has accused Russia of spreading fake news, propaganda and disinformation in an effort to shrink Nato’s influence in the region. In a paper published in the Journal of Strategic Studies, researchers from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs said a “wide array of...

Prospective US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson better watch his mouth, angry Chinese media said Friday, warning Donald Trump’s nominee that his threats to block China in the South China Sea are fighting words. The comments came after the former ExxonMobil CEO told U.S. senators that he would seek to deny Beijing access to the artificial...

WASHINGTON — The United States must send a clear signal to China that its island-building in the contested South China Sea must stop, and that its access to those islands will not be allowed, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state said on Wednesday. In comments certain to enrage Beijing, Rex Tillerson told his...

The changing of the guard on the 38th floor of the UN building in New York, with António Guterres taking over for Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary-General, has taken place at a time when notions about peace and conflict are undergoing a subtle change. In particular, the role of resources – especially water – is getting the recognition it deserves.This...

US troops and tanks began streaming into Poland yesterday as part of one of the largest deployments of US forces in Europe since the Cold War, an operation that Russia angrily branded a “threat”.The Atlantic Resolve mission will see more than 3,000 American soldiers and heavy equipment deployed in Poland and nearby North Atlantic Treaty...

President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for US defence secretary James Matteo and CIA director Mike Pompeo have portrayed multiple challenges facing the United States, from an aggressive Russia to a “disruptive” Iran to a China that he said is creating “real tensions”.Matteo has accused Russia of trying to break up NATO and said China was...

Russia sees the deployment of US tanks and other military vehicles, along with army personnel, as a threat to its national security and interests, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “We see this as a threat. These actions pose a threat to our interests and security,” Peskov told journalists on Thursday, stressing “especially, when a...